| Wednesday November 20th 2002 It's once again that time of year when the demands start coming in to compile a Christmas wishlist. It's not dissimilar to when someone asks you to name everything you can think of that's yellow: "That's easy! The sun! umm ... crayons ... umm ... my web page background ... umm ... uh-oh." I can walk all over a mall and get stopped looking at a thousand different things, but when someone asks me point blank 'what do you want for Christmas', my brain slips into 'duhhhh...' mode. That would have totally thrown me off in highschool exams: 'Describe the theme of Catcher in the Rye' - 'Describe the significance of the novel's title' - 'What do you want for Christmas?'. I'd flunk, right then and there. The only solution is to keep a running list. Lists are great all the rest of the year too, to remind yourself what caught your eye. I keep one on Amazon.com now, listing books and movies I'm pursuing, and I've started another one saved on my computer of Xbox games that sound like they're worth the money. Then, when the list request comes in - boom! - no thought required. Just like cheat notes. Then there's the task of getting everyone coordinated, so they aren't all buying you the same thing. Splitting up the list, or letting them know what you've suggested to who ... so much to think about ... Almost forgot the other side of the coin, silly me - acquiring wish lists from other people. Once dose of this and you'll never want to be a dentist, if pulling teeth is going to be anything similar. Living so far away from my family, by the time lists start rolling my way I discover most of the items are already reserved, except for the twinkly neon cactus lamp that you're not really sure they want anyway. Try running into Sears to check the wedding registry the day before the marriage and you'll understand. Not good. But I think I've got things covered this year. I've actually thought of an idea or two before they were even suggested to me. This, of course, runs me the risk of purchasing some totally unwanted object condemned to official dust collector status. Sigh. Gift-giving was so much easier as a kid, when I could just buy everyone the stuff I wished they had, like video games and stuff. Just kidding. Sort of. Oh, good grief, tell me you never did that! |